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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

How does a person go from the happiest moment of their life to the scariest—all in a span of 24 hours? An engagement to be married, followed by a breast cancer diagnosis. Where do all of those emotions live? How does a person celebrate, mourn, fight for survival… and cope, all in a single breath? How does a loved one offer support in the face of such an uphill, life-or-death battle? And who supports the supporter/carer/loved one?

Phew… these are all big questions. And we discuss them and a lot more in my interview with breast cancer survivor Holly Bertone. Holly is gracious enough to share her story and takes time to answer some of the big questions that not many think to ask or even ponder. Cancer can affect anyone and Holly’s mission is to provide hope, help, and answers to questions should the need arise.

In this interview, despite the subject matter, Holly and I actually have a great time and laugh (Breast Selling Author is Holly’s title for her story in our first i’Mpossible book; and satiates the 3rd grade comedian living in my head who thrives on low-brow humor from time to time), and tell stories, and put a positive spin when talking about life, love, family, and the “C” word.

The interview is embedded above, is available on iTunes, and can be downloaded directly here. I hope you take a little time to listen and hang out with Holly and I. Our chat was fun and enlightening for me and I hope the same for you

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

“Everything happens for a reason,” is probably one of the worst things you can say to someone after a tragedy or traumatic event. My head explodes a little whenever I hear someone make that statement, because it’s super trite and borderline insensitive. One never has a complete picture of another person’s frame of reference or what’s going on inside their head or the scope of how a traumatic event or tragedy truly affects another person.

Yes, everything does happen for a reason, but only if one makes that choice (hopefully a healthy choice)—and no one can make that choice for another person.

Bob Brader, a playwright/actor/advocate/man-crush-on-Joseph-Gordon-Levitt, is someone who made a choice in his life, where everything to date has happened for a reason. Dude was traumatized, beaten, and belittled constantly as a child by his father. He worked his butt off to get out of his smallish town in Pennsylvania and hustled and grinded for years as an actor and playwright.

I interviewed Bob because I saw his one man show Spitting in the Face of the Devilin New York City a few years back. Bob created purpose and meaning from his tumultuous childhood by bearing it all on stage in Spitting… and has toured it all over North America and fellow abuse survivors have found inspiration and the capacity to make purpose and meaning from their own experiences because of Bob’s work. He’s showing and not telling people that yes, everything does happen for a reason… but it’s a choice and not a manifest.

In my interview, Bob and I talk about self-doubt and how to work through it—not simply silencing those negative voices but turning them into allies and friends. We talk the art of creativity, (specifically theater) and how it can help one’s healing process, how it can facilitate self-awareness, and how it can bring about catharsis.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

What exactly is the definition of wealth? Many associate wealth with money—as did I for a very long time, and pursued it (albeit unsuccessfully) until I was bankrupt in almost every area of my life including my bank account.

2009-2011 happened—a death, a lawsuit, a bad breakup, a crisis—and life no longer seemed worth living.

It wasn’t until I began to focus on the other areas of my life—well-being, mental wellness, relationships, empathy, love, spirituality, giving back—that I really truly felt wealthy. And none of it had to do with money. Oddly enough, the money part started to grow really well because my focus was elsewhere.

A few months back I spoke with my new and dear friend Adam Giery, who happens to be a part of the same speakers bureau (Campuspeak) as I, and who in his early 30’s, happens to be a bit of a sage on education, stoicism, and building wealth without money.

In this podcast episode (embedded above, available on iTunes, and available for direct download here) Adam and I discuss what it truly means to be wealthy, what success looks like, the empowerment of switching jobs, focus, and freedom.

I really enjoyed this one with Adam. I came away with a lot and I hope you do, too.

Monday, November 13, 2017

As a former professional actor, it’s ingrained in my brain to never upstage anyone or anything—usually applied to stage and film, but it’s a great analogy for life as well.

In case you’re not familiar, upstaging is when you try to divert attention from someone else toward yourself. When witnessing it, upstaging has a fake, grotesque, and desperate feeling to it. It has similar roots to bullying without (hopefully) violence or overt negativity heaped on the person you’re trying to outshine.

BUT my friend Walker Vreeland, who also happens to be a playwright/actor and former radio personality, makes it his mission to “upstage stigma,” which is a damn good idea. Outshine and maybe even b*tch slap the stigma surrounding mental illness and mental health; showing everyone you’re a bigger star than that tired old soap opera star called Stigma.

I interviewed Walker on my podcast and he talks about his battles with mental illness, his struggle with authenticity, finding his truest self, and living out his purpose or calling in life. Dude is super funny and engaging and provides a lot of wisdom about this thing called life. It doesn’t hurt that I had a lot of fun talking to a fellow one-man play performer and theatre nerd (#putdownthehaterade).

Walker’s episode is embedded above, available in iTunes, and for direct download. Give it a listen on a subway ride or on a car ride… or in the shower—I’m not the boss of your life :) I hope you have as good a time hanging out with Walker as I had.